London Welsh fuming after Henson ruled out for six weeks with fractured cheekbone

Gavin Henson's quest to revive his
career with London Welsh has suffered a cruel early setback as the
former Wales centre is likely to miss the first six weeks of the new
season after having surgery on a fractured cheekbone.

The 30-year-old was due to start the
Aviva Premiership campaign as the Exiles’ first-choice fly-half, but his
return to competitive action has been delayed by the injury he suffered
in Llanelli on Saturday.

Treated: Gavin Henson is given medical attention

In the first minute of Welsh’s ‘friendly’ encounter with the Scarlets, Henson was hurt by a late tackle from home prop Deacon Manu and despite soldiering on until the 33rd minute, he was forced off.

Following a scan he returned to hospital for an operation and his club — preparing for their debut season in English rugby’s top division — expect him to be out of action until October.

John Taylor, the Exiles’ managing director, said: ‘The X-rays showed Gavin broke his cheekbone in three places but luckily they were relatively small.

Blow: Henson had hoped to resurrect his career at London Welsh

‘They manipulated everything back into
place and he didn’t need any metal work. He was a bit groggy when I
spoke to him but he was upbeat, cursing his bad luck. Hopefully he will
be back playing in six weeks and training in three.’

Welsh were enraged by Manu’s wild and damaging challenge at Parc y
Scarlets and may take the matter further.

Taylor added: ‘We’re quite
upset with what happened — it certainly wasn’t what Gavin needed. We
will look at the incident with the Scarlets. If needed we will deal with
it internally between the clubs.’

All smiles: Henson joined the club this summer

Argentina marked their first home appearance in the new southern
hemisphere Rugby Championship on Saturday by claiming an historic 16-16
draw with South Africa — the first time they have avoided defeat in 15
Tests against the Springboks.